


Providence

by MirrorMystic



Category: Fire Emblem Echoes: Mou Hitori no Eiyuu Ou | Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia
Genre: Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Found Family, Gen, Post-Canon, Post-Canon Fix-It
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-08
Updated: 2017-07-08
Packaged: 2018-11-29 13:37:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11442012
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MirrorMystic/pseuds/MirrorMystic
Summary: The Faithful believe that in times of tragedy, Mila will provide. As a cleric in her service, Genny struggles to do the same- to keep the faith, and to keep her promise, made what feels like a lifetime ago.





	Providence

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [with a touch of a hand](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11090427) by [banditchika](https://archiveofourown.org/users/banditchika/pseuds/banditchika). 



> For banditchika, whose fic gave me the idea that Genny and Sonya are both, in a way, the youngest of three sisters.

~*~  
  
It was not Mila who soothed her grief.  
  
After the incident, when Genny was left wandering the countryside, aimless and alone, she found herself in a tavern, gazing up at the bottles on the wall. She’d never drank as a child. Not even now, as a woman grown. But she’d heard stories, of how people drowned their sorrows in ale, or smothered their worries in a warm embrace.  
  
In the end, it was a touch that healed her. Not from a comely stranger, but an old friend- an old face from the priory.  
  
Sister Silque discovered her, while on her pilgrimage across Valentia. In the privacy of a tavern room, Silque placed a stone idol of the goddess on the windowsill, and her hand upon Genny’s shoulder in benediction. Genny told her everything; about life after the war, about having a family again, about the crushing news that had ripped that away and left her reeling, lost. Silque shared stories of her own family, of her mother fleeing Rigel and leaving her at the priory, wondering what fate might have befallen her if she’d stayed and Jedah’s Apostles had swallowed her up.  
  
Silque held her as Genny laid her grief at her feet; and as night fell, they prayed together, the goddess’ sculpted form glinting in the moonlight.  
  
In the morning, Silque offered to have Genny join her in her pilgrimage. But Genny politely declined; she knew where she had to go, and she knew what she had to do.  
  
They clasped hands in farewell, and exchanged Mila’s blessing.  
  
But it was not Mila who helped Genny find her way.  
  
~*~  
  
It was not Mila who helped her finish what she started.  
  
After Genny’s chance encounter with Silque, their talk of family and home could only ever bring her to one place- Novis Monastery, where Genny lived and trained until following Celica out into the world.  
  
Mae threw herself at Genny the instant her ship came to port, the force of her hug almost sending her luggage toppling into the water. Boey followed soon after, greeting her with a warm smile and a hand in her hair. Just like that, it was like they were kids again, with Boey and Mae welcoming her back like a cherished younger sister after years away from home.  
  
When Genny told them the news, they were speechless. Boey sank into his chair, lost in thought, while Mae paced around the table, clenching her fists until her knuckles were white.  
  
“I’ll kill them… I’ll _kill_ them…!” Mae seethed, and Genny was torn- frightened by Mae’s eyes glinting with wrath, but honored to be the subject of such furious devotion.  
  
Boey reached out, brushing a hand against Mae’s. Just a simple touch brought her back from the brink, stopping her in her restless pacing. Boey met Mae’s eyes for just a moment, before sitting up and leaning forward, holding Genny’s gaze.  
  
“Genny,” he said, with the utmost fondness, “what can we do?”  
  
Genny didn’t bring any souvenirs back home to Novis. What she did bring were notes- sheaves and sheaves of parchment and musty, leather-bound tomes, filled from cover to cover with cryptic instructions and arcane symbols. In the days that followed, even with a monastery to run and the faithful to tend to, Mae and Boey spent as much of their free time as they could poring over parchment, decoding riddles written in ancient tongues and scribbling out notes of their own.  
  
Days became weeks. Weeks became months. But through it all, even with the shadow of her task looming above her, Genny’s heart felt light. She lost herself in the warmth of candlelight, of Mae and Boey’s care and concern, of how Genny noticed that, in the midst of their research, poring over separate tomes, Mae and Boey still held hands between page turns.  
  
Even with the foundation already laid for them, it still took them almost a year to finish the spell. It was a year Genny cherished. Truthfully, she could have spent forever at the monastery, with Boey and Mae right beside her, feeling like she was home, like she was where she belonged.  
  
And maybe she would. Someday. But there was still work to be done.  
  
Genny knew they would’ve come with her, if she’d asked. If she’d asked them to, they would have followed her into Thabes itself.  
  
That night, on the docks, Mae and Boey drew her into a tearful hug, and sent her away with Mila’s blessing.  
  
But it was not Mila who found the cure.  
  
~*~  
  
It was not Mila who armed her for battle.  
  
With the weight of her task finally settling on her shoulders, Genny couldn’t leave without first saying goodbye. So she made the long journey from Novis Monastery to Zofia Castle, and requested an audience with the Queen.  
  
In her worn traveling cloak, her staff faded and no longer gleaming, Genny felt horribly underdressed. She wished she’d had time to make herself a little more presentable, at least put some makeup on- but the only set she had belonged to someone else, and it hurt too much to consider, now that they were gone.  
  
An aide called her forward, and Genny entered the audience chamber, the regal Queen Anthiese waiting for her, hands primly folded in her lap. No sooner had the doors pulled shut behind her did Genny feel herself drawn into a warm, welcoming hug, the Queen casting aside decorum and formality and just being Celica, just for her.  
  
Genny told her everything. Celica already knew, of course- she and Mae wrote each other every week- but she saw, in Genny’s eyes, how much Genny needed to say it. They had tea together, and Genny sat close by, perhaps closer than she should to royalty, and Celica gave her a kind smile, a listening ear, and a gentle hand atop hers.  
  
During her brief visit to the castle, Genny saw the King only in passing. Presumably, he was busy doing royalty things while she had his fellow monarch occupied. She and Alm weren’t close, not by any means; but he still gave her a kind smile as she caught his eyes across the room.  
  
That night, as Genny was preparing to leave, Alm and Celica stopped her at the door. They came bearing gifts, both precious relics from the royal armory. The first was a shimmering shield in a dragon’s visage, glittering with protective magics as Alm carefully eased it onto Genny’s arm. The second was a pearl staff, cast in radiant white, one which was, in Celica’s words, “fit for an exemplar of the faith”.  
  
“Be strong,” Celica said, like a prayer, drawing Genny close and taking her hands. “Be safe.”  
  
Across the hall, Alm met the eyes of another familiar face from years ago. Genny watched him as he hoisted his pack and made for the stables, fetching horses for the long journey ahead.  
  
Genny bowed her head and let Celica press a kiss to her hair, whispering into her scalp the words of Mila’s blessing.  
  
But it was not Mila who followed Genny into the dark.  
  
~*~  
  
It was not Mila who brought her to the edge of the abyss.  
  
Genny’s steed stopped at the foot of the gravel path, stomping and whinnying in fear. Genny could hazard a guess why- there was something in the air here, in the sickening, poisonous aura of the mountain, that set her nerves on edge, sent the streams of magic flowing through her body sizzling and sparking with danger.  
  
“This place has got ‘em spooked,” Saber said, dropping down from his horse. “This is as far as they’ll go.”  
  
Genny nodded. “We’ll go the rest of the way on foot. Make sure you take whatever you need.”  
  
“I’ve got what I need right here,” Saber said, patting the sword at his hip. He was older now, graying at the temples, though his sword arm was as strong as ever. But it wasn't his sword that made Celica choose him to accompany Genny on her task- it was the looping crest of armor at his back, warded against magic. That, and because he was a friend.  
  
Genny sorted through her pack, her horse anxiously scuffing the ground. She carefully lifted the Dracoshield out of her saddlebags and strapped it to her arm, its luminescent wards shimmering in the dim light.  
  
“Be careful with that,” Saber chided. “That thing’s priceless. Pretty sure the Queen wants that back in one piece.”  
  
“And what about her faithful bodyguard?” Genny smiled.  
  
“Eh,” Saber shrugged. “I can take a few knocks.”  
  
After some rummaging, Genny retrieved the true prize from her pack- a scroll of parchment. She unfurled it, the inscriptions within blazing with golden light. She took a deep breath and sighed, mouthing the incantation. She’d practiced this, countless times before. But she’d only get one shot.  
  
“Listen, kiddo,” Saber said, unusually somber. “If you pull this off… it’ll be huge. You’ll be the first person ever to save a mind from being lost to darkness. That’s serious stuff. They’ll be shouting your name in the streets.”  
  
“I’m not doing this for fame.”  
  
Genny exhaled, her hands clasped as if in prayer.  
  
“...I’m doing this for _her_ .”  
  
Saber nodded. “Then let’s bring her home.”  
  
Genny rolled up her spell scroll and tucked it safely into a leather pouch at her hip. She looked up, gazing at the manor atop the mountain, feeling once-human eyes upon her.  
  
But it was not Mila watching over her from on high. And it wasn’t Mila who got Genny this far.  
  
Genny walked this road herself. But that’s not to say Mila didn’t provide.  
  
Mila gave her a father. She gave her a brother, Boey. She gave her Mae and Celica, her two cherished older sisters. Mila gave her a mother.  
  
Now, Genny had a mountain to climb, and a promise to keep.  
  
Her mother was waiting.  
  
Sonya was waiting.  
  
The Faithful believe that in times of tragedy, Mila will provide.  
  
So Genny took up her staff, said a prayer, and began to climb.  
  
~*~

**Author's Note:**

> Because a sad ending is only sad if you end the story there- and Genny and Sonya's story deserves to be told until they're both safe and happy again. I hope you all enjoyed the read.


End file.
